We have been growing vegetables in the garden for over 20 years and have developed a manageable set of plots within the confines of our relatively modest garden.  These include three 6’ by 4’ raised beds at the rear of the garden, a rhubarb patch and a south facing border with a blackcurrant and blackberry in it that we also used for sun-loving vegetables and salad crops.  The photo below taken last winter shows it looking very peaceful.

One of the annual targets for the garden has been that it should produce vegetables for Christmas, in particular parsnips and red cabbage for pickling.  Christmas Eve 2009 was an example of a successful moment.

Having decided that we were going to have a crack at a new business venture with Red Kite, it was fairly obvious that a prime marketing tool in the first instance will be our garden, so this will need to look good.  As a result of this, part of my birthday present this year is some wood for tidying up some of the beds in the garden and building nesting boxes.

Unfortunately I have a problem with a knee that I injured during an abortive running campaign, which meant that despite getting the stocks in in January, it was not until today  that I was able to get round  to replacing the edging around the rhubarb plot to raise the soil level.  As a youngster at school I was a hopeless case at woodwork so nowadays it is quite amusing to be in the garden at the workbench with my re-chargeable drill and associated tools.  I’m still no-one’s idea of a master carpenter, but am more confident (and competent) than any of my teachers would ever have expected.